Chronicles from the Verse
by Allen Knott
Summary: Setting within the Firefly Universe, those Serenity (Movie) isn't canon, basically an alternate timeline. The story follows Captain Wallace, a wealthiest 1% from the Core worlds of Poseidon, leader of his house, as he is preparing for the upcoming rebellion/civil war within the Alliance. I also used a modified map of the Verge, hint Poseidon being a planet and not a moon of Ariel.


**Dimension 2518:**

**Chronicles from the Verse**

**Saturday, January 1, 2518 A.D.**

**Cargo Hold,**

_**Serenity**_**, Tiangong,**

**Orbit of Shenzhou, Blue Sun System**

The _Serenity_ had landed on the moon of Tiangong, one of two moons of the planet Shenzhou. Captain Malcolm Reynolds and seven of his crew, Zoe Washburne, Jayne Cobb, Kaylee Frye, Hoban Washburne, Derrial Book, Simon Tam, and River Tam are playing a random game of basketball in the cargo hold. Only Inara Serra is not playing since she is watching them from the catwalk above. Inara had recently announced she is planning on leaving _Serenity_ after telling Mal shortly after the funeral for her friend Nandi Clarke and after _Serenity_ left the moon of Equuleus. The crew reactions had covered the spectrum, with Kaylee being extremely emotional whereas Cobb didn't show much of reaction of any kind.

"Inara!" says a male voice all of a sudden, causing Mal to turn around immediately. Mal sees a very young-looking male dressing in an Alliance Naval uniform. Mal can tell from the rank that the man is a Captain, as River leaps to attack the man but his voices, "Eto Kuram Nasmekh," causing River to fall to the floor.

Everyone but Simon is stunned since the men who helped him free his sister told him about the safe word. Mal is about to assault the man but Inara stops him by asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to speak with everyone," responds the man, seeing Jayne moving towards what he presumes is a weapon before he continues, "If you kill me, my vessel in orbit will destroy the _Serenity_, or at least broadcast its location to every friendly ship within range. Besides, I'm not here to arrest River, Simon or anyone else. I'm actually here to help River."

"Why would you help my sister?" asks Simon, kneeling beside River, who is being held by Kaylee, as the man says, "Let's talk…"

**Galley,**

_**Serenity**_**, Tiangong,**

**Orbit of Shenzhou, Blue Sun System**

After putting River in her bed, everyone is sitting in the galley as the man standing starts explaining, "First, my name is Captain Arthur Wallace and as everyone is aware of River was experimented on by the Alliance. The project, code name Project Peace was done under the supervisor of Doctor Mathias. River wasn't the only test subject and Simon 'rescued' her before Mathias had a chance to complete his experiments. However, I have knowledge that with Simon's help we could make River more mentally stable while she would retain her abilities."

"Why would you be willing to help my sister?" asks Simon, as this sounds too good to be true. Arthur pauses for a moment, despite his youthful appearing he is actually 32 years old. Arthur was born in 2486 on the core world of Poseidon. Then in 2504, he enrolled in Britannia Naval Academy, also known as Alliance Fleet Academy in Dartmouth, Londinium. He spent four years there, before graduating in 2508 and being assigned to the I.A.V. _Prometheus_, Titan-class Heavy Cruiser. Eight years later in 2516 he was promoted to Captain and given command of the _Athena_, a Victoria-class Corvette. Upon graduation in 2508, Arthur spent three years fighting the Independents. Upon the surrender of the Independent High Command in 2511, Arthur spent the better part of a year fighting the Independent Remnants. For his service, Arthur was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned to the I.A.V. _Solaria_, a Sihnon-class Heavy Carrier, as X.O. serving under Captain Haydar Wilkinson.

"Inara knows me, and she knows I've always done what I thought was right. I fought against the Independents because I thought it was the best thing for everyone to be under one central government. However, the last two years I have learned several things that had caused me to reexamine my position in Alliance…"

"Things like what?" asks Mal, as he notices Arthur is unarmed but with a ship in orbit targeting the _Serenity_, why would Arthur need a weapon? Arthur continues, "…let's just say things like Project Peace among other things. For example, I was recently sent to explore a sixth planetary system within the 34Tauri Star Cluster. Unlike the other four systems which are centered around the White Sun System. The Brigit System is beyond the Blue Sun System. The system only has 13 planets but some 430 moons orbiting the star plus it is a class F5. This made it the second white star within the 34Tauri Star Cluster. Anyway, if we can help River, and she would become more stable along with retaining her abilities."

"How can you possibly know that?" asks Simon, wondering if this is too good to be true. Arthur sighs before explaining, "I have a member of my crew, Alexa. She was also experimented on by Project Peace. The same group who helped River escape helped Alexa. They smuggled her to Persephone, where I got her aboard the _Athena_. The _Athena_ is under my command, a Victoria-class Corvette. Now, Mal must decide if he is going to shoot me or let me help?"

"There were two other men, who were looking for River," voices Zoe, referring to the men with blue hands, "They almost captured her, Simon, and Jayne when they were on Ariel, what about them?"

"Special Agent Cockrum and Ricketts, both of them are dead," explains Arthur. After the death of Cockrum and Ricketts, bounty hunter Jubal Early, took the assignment of finding River Tam, "Besides, if you didn't know or weren't aware the bounty hunter Jubal survived Mal throwing him off in space. He is currently recovering but as soon as he is up and walking around again. He will be tracking you down. He hasn't told the Alliance that River is on the _Serenity_, probably because if he does, they will kill him, and he is a tad bit pissed-off at _Serenity_'s crew."

"Arthur, you spoke with Jubal and killed Cockrum and Ricketts?" asks Inara, who got to know Arthur well when he was an Ensign aboard the I.A.V. _Prometheus_. Arthur replies, "I did speak with Jubal. He is being held at the Naval Station on the moon of Savannah. However, I didn't myself kill Cockrum and Ricketts."

"Then what happened to them?" asks Derrial, who can tell that Arthur isn't telling them everything. Arthur voices, "Let's just say they got some bad intelligence that led to their ship being caught in the gravity well of Oceanus and crushed by the gas giant's dense atmosphere. Also, I have an idea of how to stop the Alliance from looking for her for good, if you're interested."

"How?" asks Simon, who would love to no longer be on the run. Simon looks at Mal who seems unconvinced as Arthur explains, "The Alliance stopped looking for Alexa after we convinced them she was dead. I'm proposing we do the same trick, twice. We make them think that River and Simon are dead. For Alexa, we made it appear the ship she was aboard crashed into the moon Dukkha. They recovered the body and concluded that she was dead, so they stopped looking for her. It worked before and it could work again."

"If they recovered the body, then why didn't they discover the body wasn't Alexa?" asks Zoe, causing Arthur's chuckle, before explaining, "I used a clone. Same as I'm suggesting that we do for them. It is the only way the scheme will fool the Alliance."

"You have cloning technology?" asks Mal, who heard rumors that the Alliance possess cloning technology during the Unification War but never believed it. Arthur nods his head yes before he continues, "Yes, there is a secret cloning facility on the moon of Deimos. It isn't widespread yet as some within the Alliance's higher tiers fear the technology. However, I was able to acquire what is needed to make a single clone. I had only used it once before because I don't want to overuse it, but helping River is important. Plus, Project Peace must not be allowed to continue."

"What if we used the Reavers?" asks Hoban, thinking about fooling the Alliance into believing the ship that Tam was aboard was captured by the Reavers. Arthur rolls his eyes before saying, "You can't believe the falsehood regarding the Reavers?"

"We have seen them first hand," comments Mal, who had dealt with Central planets individuals who don't believe in the Reavers. Arthur rolls his eyes again before commenting, "No, you haven't! You have only seen the aftermath, which is what the Alliance desired. The Reavers are a horror story that people tell each other and according to the Alliance, the Reavers don't exist. In any encounters with them, have you ever seen a Reaver? No, the derelict ship you encountered several months ago, you only saw the aftermath. What you saw was staged using the cloning technology with the sole survivor, Branden Morgan, a mentally unstable man used by Alliance intelligence. So, he murdered several Naval personnel aboard the I.A.V. _Kagoshima_ but that is a small price to pay. Why did you think the Reaver ship you encountered chased you back to Whitefall but there was no Reaver attack? I know this because I was part of the group who came up with the idea. Just think about it for a moment…"

The room is stunned into silence as Arthur continues, "…what you thought your friend Gruvick's town was burned down by the Reavers just for the fun of it? Why would the Reavers just burn down a town? No, Gruvick was eliminated by the 'Reavers' because Vittore Gruvick got caught smuggling weapons of mass destruction to be used against the Alliance. So, the entire town, but not the entire population was burned down. The survivors blame the Reavers, which leaves the Union free of blame and consequences plus no one is the wiser. It's a clever decoy."

"You haven't answered why the Alliance wants River so badly," asks Book. You can tell that Arthur is immediately tense before he explains, "Because somehow River knew every one of the Alliance's secrets. Fleet deployments, new weapons technologies, the Reavers, and other secrets the Alliance want to keep quiet."

"You want that information?" asks Simon, now seeing why Arthur would be willing to help his sister. Arthur nods his head yes before saying, "I have told you everything. Now it is time for you to decide if you're going to trust me, so I can help River."

Arthur then leaves the galley walking back down to the cargo hold while waiting for the crew to talk everything over. He did give them a lot of think about and he is curious to see how much they believe. Everything he told them was the truth but how much they accept as fact is up to them, especially about the Reavers.

**Cargo Hold,**

_**Serenity**_**, Tiangong,**

**Orbit of Shenzhou, Blue Sun System**

Arthur is lying across the solid surface still waiting when he sees Inara standing over him. Arthur had to admit she is still beautiful, when Inara says, "Simon has accepted the deal and gone to get River, but Arthur what are you actually doing here?"

"I told you, I'm here to help River," voices Arthur, though Inara's reaction clearly tells she doesn't believe him, before she says, "You forget that I know you. You may be telling the truth or maybe not. But even if you are then it is either a half-truth or there is more going on here than what you are telling."

"Simon is correct I want the intel," responds Arthur, thinking how scary it is that Inara knows him so well, "But there are also some other things occurring, that I can't really speak on."

Inara is worried because whatever Arthur is involved in is not his normal pursuits but something where he is in actual danger, as are the people he cares about. Arthur stands up before explaining, "Listen Inara, there are things that I'm involved in and things that I had learned that I can't unlearn. If Alliance Intelligence learn what I'm involved in, they will hunt down everyone who had ever spoken to me. So yes, I've been extremely careful and someday you will understand why."

"But are you not part of Alliance Intelligence?" comments Inara, not seeing the difference. Inara sees the uniform standing in front of her but not the man. Arthur chuckles, "For a woman who spent her life telling primarily men what they want to hear something you can't see the forest through the trees. I wear the uniform, yes. I fought for the Alliance, true but now I'm Alliance in name only. Times are changing and not for the better. Things will always get worse before things get better."

"What?" asks Inara but Arthur just calmly replies, "Inara, again someday you will understand why I have become such a cynic. You know that I come from money and have a nice giant private residence on Poseidon…" as Arthur is talking if Inara didn't know any better she would swear that Arthur is about to cry as he continues, "…but that has only caused me, to be more cynical."

"Mal would like to speak with you also," says Inara, not knowing how else to respond. Arthur nods his understanding as Inara turns to leave the Cargo hold and a few minutes later Mal is standing in front of Arthur. Mal asks, "Do you think you can help River?"

"I wouldn't be here if I thought otherwise," answers Arthur, as the two men who had spent their life on the opposite side stare each other down, "I know from reading your files that you're highly protective of your crew. I also know that you don't trust me because you don't know me and because I'm Alliance. So, I'm just going to go ahead and say this. Yes, I fought against the Independents. I was there when the Alliance started launching missiles onto the Independent ground forces during the last days of the Battle of Serenity Valley. I was there when we destroyed the Independent Fleet over Hera and doing so, allowed us to assault the surface of Hera. I was there when the Alliance destroyed an Independent fleet over Athens. Your side may have been the losing side but that doesn't mean you were the only who came out of the war-scarred. I saw the aftermath of the Massacre on Eris."

The Massacre on Eris happened in 2509 on the moon of Eris, where a year before the Alliance had set up a civilian hospital and several refugee camps for anyone fleeing the war. The lightly defended moon proved to be an easy target when the 20th Mountain Infantry Regiment attacked the moon slaughtering everyone at what the Independent said was a 'military' hospital, and an estimated 80% of refugees because the refugees were Alliance's collaborators. Mal just angrily stares at Arthur before even Mal admitted the Massacre on Eris was a mistake, before he comments, "Inara said you're trustworthy but don't for a moment think about screwing me or my crew over. What do you need from us? Because clearly, you can't do whatever you're planning aboard my vessel."

"Correct and I can't bring River aboard the _Athena_ because of the scanners. Even as much I trust my crew, I will not put them at that level of risk. However, my family owned an estate on Bellerophon, meet me there as soon as you can. I have to travel to Fleet Headquarters for a meeting with Admiral Corman," explains Arthur, whose family is of the wealthiest 1% of people within the Verse. Alliance Naval Headquarters or 'Fleet Headquarters' is located in Hampshire, Londinium, where the bulk of the Admiralty resides. Mal says, "Wonderful! The last time I was on Bellerophon, I ended up naked and alone in the desert."

"That is much more information than I need," chuckles Arthur, as he is the only one who finds this funny, "But I do have a question for you, Captain. Why are you even aboard this ship? Because according to your files you still own your family property on Shadow? A piece of land worth millions of credits but besides paying your taxes regularly to Alliance, you haven't been back there since you joined the Independents. I'm guessing your crew doesn't know that you have your own estate?"

"Because no one leaves Serenity, you just learn to live here," responds Mal, who had thought about returning to Shadow but every time he decided against it. Arthur raises an eyebrow and asks, "Or do you think they would treat you differently? Let's see here: Jayne was born on Mars and still sends money back to his family. Kaylee was born on Chippewa and also sends money back home. Zoe was born in space and never had a home anywhere else besides a ship. Wash was born on Iscariot, a planet that until recently had such thick heavy pollution that the stars were not visible, and Derrial Book was born on the moon of Tigris but Inara and the Tams are all from the central planets."

"The boy I was before the war isn't the man I am now," Mal explains, "However, my mother never had the type of money that your family does. So how much property do the Wallace's own?"

Arthur doesn't answer that question, as both men just start staring at each other but are interrupted by Wash's voice saying, "Mal, we are being hailed by a Commander Miranda Lawson."

"That is my X.O.," Arthur mouthed the words, as he left orders for Miranda to try and contact him if she felt anything was off. Mal just continues staring at Arthur for a moment before saying, "Wash inform the Commander that Wallace will be there shortly."

"Thank you, Captain," says Arthur before exiting the Cargo Hold.

**Several Hours Later:**

**Captain's Cabin,**

_**Athena**_**,**

**Blue Sun System**

Arthur is resting in his captain's cabin, with his legs propped up, as he is reading several files and his ship is traveling through the Blue Sun System. Arthur hears a knock on his hatch door and quietly wonders who it could be, but he says, "Please, come in."

The hatch opens and Alexa Davalos steps into the cabin. Arthur looks at the beautiful woman as she asks, "Arthur, can we talk?"

"Sure, Alexa but are you alright?" responds Arthur, putting what he had been reading down. Alexa flops down on Arthur's bed before asking, "Now, do you think you can actually help River?"

"Doctor Marcus thinks she can, and Carol has never failed me before. Along with the knowledge we learned from your case led me to conclude that River will come through just fine, though it will take time for her to fully recover. If that is possible," comments Arthur, walking over to his kitchenette, to pour himself something to drink. Alexa is not sure if Arthur is telling her what she wants to hear or what he actually believes but instead Alexa changed the subject and asks, "So do you know what your meeting with Admiral Corman is going to be all about?"

"Not sure," answers Arthur, after taking a drink of his Pepsi, "Probably nothing good. According to Admiral Stryker, it is some type of reassignment, but Jonas didn't say much more than that."

"What type of reassignment is it going to be?" asks Alexa, who had come to call home whatever ship Arthur is commanding. Arthur shrugs his shoulders before replying, "It very well could be anything, but I won't know more until Wednesday. I'm hoping that it's something more useful and not like my previous assignment. I mean commanding a single ship as part of the larger anti-piracy Task Force throughout the Verse? What was the Admiralty thinking? I'm an Alliance Intelligence officer for crying out loud! Besides once you caught the pirate's vessels their ships were clearly not a match for any of our Alliance Navy warships."

"Oh, someone is a little pissed about being given an assignment beneath him," giggles Alexa, who likes teasing Arthur. Arthur just looks at Alexa before saying, "How about you use those beautiful lips for what they were created for, sucking my dick?"

"You know that you're an asshole?" voices Alexa, as Arthur nods his head yes, as Alexa continues speaking, "But I thought you would never ask…" then Alexa, who loves Arthur's bad boy persona, falls to her knees before she unzips Arthur's slacks, causing him to lean his head back when he feels her smooth lips…


End file.
